


No Means No

by Avistella



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gender-neutral Reader, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, hints of past abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 15:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15122675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avistella/pseuds/Avistella
Summary: Alfonse realizes that you have a hard time saying “no”.





	No Means No

**Author's Note:**

> This was a vent fic, so I apologize in advance if it isn't coherent.

Every time Alfonse happened to see you, you always seemed to be helping someone out in some way or form. At first, the Askran prince thought that you were being kind, and he admired you greatly for it. He was even inspired to be as kind and selfless as you, and eventually he realized that you may be pushing yourself too hard. There was rarely any time that you spent for yourself, either for your own leisure or rest since everybody seemed to want you for something.

The young prince happens to overhear your conversation with Laslow when you promise to spend some time with him later in the afternoon for a cup of tea. The dancing duelist seems delighted with your response, and he leaves with a bounce in his steps and a cheerful hum on his lips that he misses the fatigue that crosses over your features and shoulders.

“You can always politely decline his requests,” Alfonse speaks up from behind you, making his presence known, and you visibly jump in surprise. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”

You turn around to face the royal prince, and you frown slightly from his words. You can’t bring yourself to look at his eyes as you nervously chew on your bottom lip. “…I can’t,” you finally answer, but your voice comes out soft, and there’s hint of fear laced within that it causes Alfonse to raise his brows with concern. With downcast eyes, you continue, “I have to…”

_“Why not? I’m sure you’d do well.”_

_“You have to do this because I said so.”_

_“Why can’t you do it? I’ve already done so much for you.”_

_“You’re the reliable one, so you should go.”_

_“Is that what you want? To make me feel bad?”_

_“You’re wrong.”_

_“Do you love me? …What’s with that pause? Say yes!”_

Alfonse becomes alarmed when he sees your eyes turn glossy, but before he can say anything, you sharply turn on your heel to leave without even bothering to excuse yourself. The young man watches your retreating figure with confusion and an ache in his heart.

* * *

A few days later, Alfonse decides to treat you to something nice for all the hard work you’ve done for the Order of Heroes. It’s the least he could do, and you definitely deserve the break. The young man pulls you aside for a moment, a gentle expression on his face as he asks, “If you have time tomorrow, would you like to go out to town together?”

There’s a second of hesitation before you answer, “Sure, that sounds nice.” Despite the pause to consider your response, it seems like you’re genuinely interested in the offer, so Alfonse discreetly breathes out a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad… Would you prefer to go in the morning or evening?”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” you reply without missing a beat, almost like the response was instinctual. “Whenever it’s more convenient for you.”

Alfonse shakes his head and insists, “I don’t mind either time. When would _you_ like to go?”

You falter for a moment and then compose yourself. “I-It really doesn’t matter. I’m fine with whenever you’d like to go.”

The Askran prince furrows his brows together, his lips meeting together to form a thin line with the corners tugging downwards. He can’t understand your insistence on making him choose when he was giving _you_ the choice. Then again, now that he thinks about it, you were never good with choices placed upon you. You always maintained a neutral stance, going along with whatever choice others preferred.

“It’s your choice,” Alfonse tries again.

“And I’m saying that it doesn’t matter,” you stubbornly maintain your stance, but for some reason, Alfonse is having none of that. You were the one who taught him how foolish it was to distance himself from Heroes out of fear of getting hurt, so then why was he realizing only now that he knew so little of you and your preferences as though you were the one actively putting space in your relationship.

“Please just choose one,” he insists further, not backing down either. It’s strange for him to act this way, but by the same token, you’ve been acting weird ever since he brought up the fact that you don’t always have to abide with every request that Heroes throw your way.

“ _I don’t want to choose!_ ” You finally break, throwing your hands up in frustration as your words come out in a much louder voice than intended. Silence falls in between you two as you slowly start to realize your own behaviour, and you gasp, your hands shooting up to cover your mouth. Your eyes are wide with guilt and something akin to terror of something to come, and you instinctively take a step back, your figure trembling. “I-I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Your fight or flight response kicks in, and you dash out of there without another word, leaving behind a momentarily stunned young prince. Alfonse snaps himself back to reality and mentally kicks himself for not going after you sooner. He chases after you and easily catches up considering he’s more fit than you are. The young man places his hand on your shoulder to get your attention, and once again, he’s surprised by your strong reaction.

“ _No!_ ” You exclaim with such raw emotion Alfonse has never heard from you before as you try to slap his hand away, only to trip on your own two feet and come crashing down on the ground.

Admitting defeat to yourself that there’s no escape from this unpleasant situation, you curl in on yourself, burying your face in between your legs with your hands over your head as though to shield yourself. Your entire body quakes with muffled sobs as horrible memories of your past surfaces at the most inopportune of times. Alfonse doesn’t know how to react to this sudden situation, and he brings himself to awkwardly kneel before you.

“What’s wrong?” The prince finally asks, trying to be conscious of the tone of his voice. He doesn’t want to sound too overbearing with his concern. “Please, tell me…”

“ _…don’t want… …don’t want to… please…_ ”

Something inside Alfonse breaks at the vulnerability in your voice. It sounds so broken and scared, and he can’t imagine how you became like this. You were summoned from what you explained to be a more or less peaceful world, so why did it seem like you’ve been through so much.

“Okay,” the young man breathes out. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay.”

_You **don’t** have to._

Just that one sentence alone felt like a saving grace. Why? Why did it always feel like you were being saved by Alfonse? No matter what the reason, you were beyond grateful.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find more of my works on [my Tumblr](http://avistella.tumblr.com/)


End file.
